Lisbon Archives - sateless suitcase

Love, It’s Complicated

I know this is a strange way to begin a travel-related blog post (especially when you have the real-life dating experience of a sandwich), but lately, I feel like a jealous ex-girlfriend. My first love and I have drifted apart. And I'm slightly heart-broken. A few years back, we were on the same page about everything. We were the perfect fit, and I felt like I alone had discovered the awesomeness that no one else saw. I was over the moon and couldn't stop smiling, because we were so amazing together. Unfortunately, I had to move on eventually. But I never [...]

By Julika|2015-06-30T20:58:31+02:002015/06/30|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Portugal|Tags: Europe, Lisbon, Portugal|18 Comments

My Honest Thoughts on Solo Travel

I'm not a solo traveler. I never claimed to be one, I never used the label "solo female traveler" or the hashtag #wegosolo. Yet there were a few occasions I traveled more or less by myself, and my latest getaway to Vienna and Bratislava was even a classical solo trip. But honestly, I'm conflicted about solo travel. I know, many travel bloggers rave about the experience of traveling solo. They all live by the phrase "alone is not lonely" or "solo travel is the best way to travel". But you know what? I'm not going to write a post like that [...]

By Julika|2015-04-03T08:13:14+02:002014/08/31|Categories: Specials|Tags: Austria, Bratislava, Dublin, Europe, Lisbon, Paris, Portugal, Slovakia, study abroad, thoughts, Vienna|37 Comments

10 Places You just Can’t Miss in Portugal

Summer has finally arrived in Germany and I cherish every little second of sunshine. The other day, I was waiting for my bus home when I suddenly longed for a cold, fresh pressed orange juice. I sat on a bench in the sun sipping my juice and realized how much I miss Portugal. A country where you can sit outside in the sun year round. A country where every little pastelaria sells freshly pressed orange juice for less than a Euro. How much I loved the Portuguese for their sweet tooth that they even serve the most delicious orange juice [...]

By Julika|2013-10-02T10:46:27+02:002013/07/14|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Portugal|Tags: Algarve, Architecture, Europe, Lisbon, medieval, Porto, Portugal|62 Comments

Studying Abroad in Europe – Myths and Reality

Studying abroad in Europe always comes with a reputation. Among all students the European study abroad programs are rarely mentioned without some of these words accompanying it: Beer! Shots! Party! Beach! Surf classes! Sangria! More Party! Drunk girls! Hot surfer guys! A beer at the beach. The essence of studying abroad? After all, the European study abroad program -- called "Erasmus" -- allows students from all over Europe to study in any other European country without paying anything. Moreover, you'll even get a financial aid ranging from 80 to 800 €uro (yeah, guess how much I got) depending on your [...]

By Julika|2013-05-29T12:31:51+02:002013/01/25|Categories: Specials|Tags: Europe, Lisbon, Portugal, study abroad, thoughts|27 Comments

Photo Essay: Books, Books, Books!

I love books. I'm a huge bookworm. And despite all the apparent benefits of Kindles and other e-Readers, I will never ever prefer an e-book over an actual one. I love the smell of books. I love the sounds when running through the pages. I love how a hardcover, or the pages feel. And - I think books are THE best fitment. Nothing makes an apartment more comfortable than books... Of course, book stores and libraries are the places I feel at home right away. One of the most amazing book stores I have been to so far, was Ler Devagar [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:32:29+02:002013/01/07|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Art, Europe, Lisbon, Photo Essay, Portugal|16 Comments

Around the World in 80 Coffees?!

When I was skimming through the pictures I took on my trips during the last year I realized that I developed a strange habit: I take pictures of my coffees. A lot. It may be an unconscious result of my addiction, but I consider coffee to be picture-worthy. And pretty. And very cultural. Are you aware that "Coffee" is one of the easiest words to learn in so many languages? Coffee, café (French, Portuguese, Spanish - all covered in one word!), caffè (Italian), Kaffee (German), koffie (Dutch), káva (Czech, Slovakian), kava (Croatian, Slovenian, Lithuanian - again, 3 languages, one word!), kaffe (Norwegian, Swedish), [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:41:25+02:002012/11/24|Categories: Specials|Tags: Algarve, Croatia, Europe, Lisbon, London, Paris, Prague|24 Comments

Photo Essay: Lisbon’s Road to the Orient

Lisbon is famous for the old medieval quarters and romantic balconies with fresh washed laundry... But the city also has a more modern side to it: The former industrial area in Lisbon's east had a bad reputation until it was completely remodeled for the world exhibition Expo in 1998. Since 1998 was the 500 year anniversary of Vasco da Gama's famous reaching of India via ship - one of the proudest moments in Portuguese history - the district was dedicated to him and Portugal's Golden Age. The fancy new train station there was named Oriente after da Gama's discovering of the [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:34:33+02:002012/11/19|Categories: Art History, Photo Essay|Tags: Europe, Lisbon, Photo Essay, Portugal|4 Comments

5 Things You Really Should Do in Lisbon

I love Lisbon. I fell in love with the gorgeous Portuguese capital more than four years ago and this love has been growing stronger ever since. The five months I lived there in 2011/2012 have been filled with enduring sunshine, wonderful people and abundance of indescribable beauty. I dream of moving back every day! Although Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal, it is still pretty small compared to the other Western European capitals. To be honest, if you wanted to see all major sights, you could do that in less than two days: You would go see the Castelo, take [...]

By Julika|2022-01-05T15:04:09+01:002012/10/25|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Portugal|Tags: Europe, Lisbon, medieval, Portugal, study abroad|76 Comments

10 Things I Love Most About Portugal

Without further ado - I love Portugal. Here are the ten things I adore the most about this amazing country Sunsets. Portugal has the most gorgeous sunsets I have ever seen… I never got sick of taking pictures. Especially in combination with palm trees. Pastries. Pastéis de nata – so heavenly, no words could describe... if I could eat these for the rest of my life, I would be the happiest girl in the world. Beaches. Absolutely no need to explain any further. Seafood. Grilled fish dishes – to die for! Manuline Architecture. Late Gothic, one-of-a-kind-Portuguese, simply beautiful, my art [...]

By Julika|2013-05-07T04:56:48+02:002012/07/18|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Portugal|Tags: Algarve, Architecture, Europe, Lisbon, Portugal, study abroad|20 Comments

My Semester Abroad in an Undeservingly Short Summary

Oh, how should I ever be able to summarize my semester in Portugal adequately, and squeeze one little blog post – even my original tumblr on my time in Lisbon didn't even cover half the wonderful experiences I had in those sun-filled five months. I will try to keep it short: After a rather elaborate application process, I got offered a place to study at Universidade Nova de Lisboa in the fall semester 2011/2012. Having fallen in love with Portugal, and especially Lisbon, during a vacation in 2008, I always knew that I would eventually have to come back for a longer period of [...]

By Julika|2014-01-28T16:25:53+01:002012/06/05|Categories: Destinations, Europe, Portugal|Tags: Europe, Lisbon, Portugal, study abroad|3 Comments